Why it works: Wine and brandy are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,427 recipes. Both carry gamma-nonanolactone, which smells coconut, sweet. The science ↓
Cocoa-nut Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the coconut
Remove the thin brown skin from the cocoa-nut with a knife.
Wash and dry the pieces.
Grate ¼ pound of cocoa-nut into a bowl.
Make the filling
Cream the butter and sugar together.
Gradually add the wine and rose-water.
Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form.
Gently fold them into the butter and sugar mixture.
Gradually stir in the grated cocoa-nut, mixing well.
Bake and finish
Line a soup plate with puff pastry.
Pour in the mixture.
Bake at 350°F (175°C) for about 30 minutes.
Once cool, grate loaf sugar over the top.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.
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Wine + brandytop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,427 recipes
Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, sweet).
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Butter + winetop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,645 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-furfurylthiol (coffee, roasted).
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Cocoa + buttertop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together548 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-undecalactone (coconut, creamy).
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Brandy + rosetop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together560 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Butter + brandytop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,127 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Egg whites
- Whipped to stiff peaks, they lighten the mixture and help it rise and set in the oven.
- Butter
- Creamed with the sugar, it adds richness and a tender, moist texture.
- Grated cocoa-nut
- Adds bulk, chew and its own sweet, nutty flavour to the pudding.
- Powdered white sugar
- Creams with the butter and sweetens the pudding, also helping it brown lightly.
The step that matters
Folding in the egg whites. Whipped whites hold air that gives the pudding its lift. Folding gently, rather than stirring, keeps that air from collapsing so the pudding rises and stays light.
Swap the cocoa
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, butter, egg, wine, brandy, rose):
- Almondfits better
- Walnutfits about as well
- Pistachiofits about as well
- Cocoathe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, butter, egg, wine, brandy, rose. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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